Andrew Napolitano falsely claimed that in the GM bankruptcy proceedings, "[t]here was no testimony whatsoever in court." In fact, the judge overseeing the case stated that there was in-court testimony.

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On the July 7 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck, guest host and former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano falsely claimed that in the General Motors bankruptcy proceedings, "[t]here was no testimony whatsoever in court." In fact, the bankruptcy judge overseeing the GM bankruptcy stated that there was in-court testimony as part of the proceedings.

From the bankruptcy court's "decision on debtors' motion for approval of (1) sale of assets to Vehicle Acquisition Holdings LLC; (2) assumption and assignment of related executory contracts; and (3) entry into UAW retiree settlement agreement":

After an evidentiary hearing,5 the Court makes the following Findings of Fact.

[...]

5In accordance with the Court's Case Management Order #1, direct testimony was presented by affidavit and cross-examination and subsequent questioning proceeded live. After cross-examination, the Court found all witnesses credible, and takes their testimony as true.

The bankruptcy court's opinion also specifically cited testimony by GM CEO Fritz Henderson at the hearing:

The Court accepts as accurate and truthful the testimony by GM CEO Fritz Henderson at the hearing:

Q. Now, if the U.S. Treasury does not fund on July 10th and the sale order is not entered by that date, what options are there for GM at that point?

A. Well, if they don't continue, we would liquidate.12

[...]

12 Audio Recording of Testimony of June 30, 2009.

From the July 7 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

NAPOLITANO: After just about a month, a judge has approved the sale of General Motors' strongest assets to a newly formed company, a major step toward leaving Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Here's how it breaks down: The U.S. government, you, the taxpayer, will own about 61 percent of General Motors. The unions will own 17.5 percent. The Canadian government will own 11.7 percent, and the old General Motors will own the remaining 10 percent. The company will be made up of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC, and a minority stake in General Motors Europe. But aren't there serious problems in handling such a giant bankruptcy in such a short time?

Here is Tom Woods, the author of Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Only Make Things Worse. He joins me by phone. And Steve Jakubowski, an attorney with the Coleman law firm, he is appealing -- thank God someone is -- the General Motors ruling.

Tom, to you first. The General Motors bankruptcy is one of the largest in American history. It took four weeks. There was no testimony whatsoever in court, and yet the taxpayer is on the hook for $50 billion, without a vote by the Congress, but because the president and a single federal judge have said so.

What is going on here?

WOODS: Well, this is one piece in a huge puzzle that involves a whole lot of things the government has been doing that are unprecedented and have been done essentially without any meaningful debate.

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